Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Documentary) U certificate
The regular Thursday morning World Cinema slot plays host to five weeks of documentaries, beginning with Werner Herzog's award-winning documentary about the Chauvet Cave. Situated among the beautiful gorges of the southern France, the cave is famous for its extraordinary prehistoric paintings. In a way, the film is a documentary about documentary, as, in addition to revealing the splendour of the Paleolithic artwork that was discovered within the cave system in 1994, it also probes why mankind has had, and acted upon, a seemingly innate urge to record everyday life for at least the past 32,000 years. In English, and German and French with English subtitles.
(Subtitles, 2010, U)

12:50

The Long Memory (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Robert Hamer's British thriller stars John Mills as Phillip Davidson, who is released from jail after serving 12 years for a murder he did not commit. Determined to seek revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment, he at first shuts himself away in a deserted barge on the Thames Estuary, where he is kept under police surveillance and hounded by pressmen after a story. Only a sympathetic refugee girl, Ilse, is slowly able to get through to him and convince him of the futility of trying to get back at the perjurers who sent him to jail.
Director: Robert Hamer
Starring: John Mills, John McCallum, Elizabeth Sellars, Eva Bergh, Geoffrey Keen, Michael Martin-Harvey
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1953, PG, 3 Star)

14:40

Danger Within (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
Don Chaffey's intriguing thriller is set in a Second World War POW camp where all attempts to escape are stopped suspiciously quickly by the Germans. Suspecting a planted stool pigeon is revealing their plans, Lt Col David Baird, head of the escape committee, overrides senior British officer Lt Col Huxley with an audacious plan for a daylight escape of 400 prisoners - which will also expose the traitor in their midst.
Director: Don Chaffey
Starring: Richard Todd, Bernard Lee, Michael Wilding, Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, Donald Houston
(Black and White, 1958, U, 3 Star)

16:40

Sabrina (Film) Film icon 4 star rating U certificate
Witty and sophisticated romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn as a Long Island chauffeur's daughter who is romantically pursued by two wealthy sons of an upper-crust family, business tycoon Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. With Walter Hampden and John Williams. Directed by Billy Wilder and written by Wilder, Samuel Taylor and Ernest Lehman, and based on Taylor's play Sabrina Fair.
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Walter Hampden, John Williams, Martha Hyer
(Black and White, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1954, U, 4 Star)

18:55

Chalet Girl (Film) Film icon 12 certificate
Felicity Jones and Ed Westwick star in this bright and breezy British romcom. There was a time when working-class Kim reigned supreme as a skateboarding champion; but that was before her mother's death changed everything for her and her dad Bill. Now she's decided to give up her fast-food job and chance her arm with a new career as a chalet girl in an Alpine ski resort, where she hopes to win a life-changing sum of money in a snowboarding competition. Obviously, as well learning how to transfer her skateboarding skills to the slopes, she'll also have to acquire the knack of deflecting unwanted attention from the resort's predominantly posh, testosterone-fuelled young male clientele. But among the predictable serial gropers there's one lad who catches her eye: the rather narcissistic Jonny. Can Kim gain the confidence to hold her own among the relocated Chelsea set?
Director: Tom Williams
Starring: Felicity Jones, Ed Westwick, Bill Nighy, Brooke Shields, Tamsin Egerton, Bill Bailey
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2011, 12)

21:00

Another Year (Film) Film icon 4 star rating 12 certificate
Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen star in Mike Leigh's Oscar and Bafta-nominated comedy drama about a contented couple and their less fortunate friends and family. Gerri and Tom have long been harmoniously married, are equally happy with their careers and chiefly spend their leisure time around the kitchen table and on their cherished allotment. However, little dark clouds scud across their blue skies in the shape of Gerri's colleague Mary, whose neediness is just starting to grate; Tom's lonely friend Ken, who makes the trip down to London each year to stay with the couple; and Tom's brother Ronnie, who is persuaded to come and visit, but proves to be as unhappy as he is taciturn. The narrative follows Tom and Gerri over the course of a year, tracking the duo's various gentle attempts to bring a glimmer of happiness to the lives of those about them. Also starring Oliver Maltman as their thirtysomething son Joe and featuring a cameo from Imelda Staunton. First play on Film4.
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Oliver Maltman, Peter Wight, David Bradley
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2010, 12, 4 Star)

23:35

Drowning by Numbers (Film) Film icon 4 star rating 18 certificate
Peter Greenaway's iconic film is a surreal tale of murder, grief and desire from a period in which his creative powers held cinephiles enrapt and his commercial impact was increasing. Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson and Joely Richardson play three generations of a family - all called Cissie Colpitts - who kill their husbands, and Bernard Hill is the coroner upon whose complicity the women rely. But the narrative is never the chief selling point of a Greenaway film, and here the director's typically inventive visuals are punctuated by the numbers 1 to 100, which appear in a range of unexpected places including on fish and a dead cow.
Director: Peter Greenaway
Starring: Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson, Joely Richardson, Bernard Hill, Jason Edwards, Bryan Pringle
(Premiere, Subtitles, 1988, 18, 4 Star)

01:55

Deep End (Film) Film icon 4 star rating 15 certificate
Set during the swinging sixties, this neglected British gem from writer/director Jerzy Skolimowski centres on a public swimming pool where new assistant Mike is shown the ropes, and more besides, by his confident, sexually experienced colleague Susan. Although Susan is engaged, Mike does his best to sabotage the relationship, to the extent of stalking both her and her fiancé. Mike becomes increasingly desperate to have Susan for himself - with tragic results - as the extraordinary climax is acted out in the empty swimming pool. Look out for Diana Dors in a cameo role exuding vaudevillian sauciness as a sexually voracious customer trying to seduce Mike.
Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
Starring: Jane Asher, John Moulder-Brown, Karl Michael Vogler, Christopher Sandford, Diana Dors, Louise Martini
(Widescreen, 1970, 15, 4 Star)

The Red Pony (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
John Steinbeck wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of his own story. Peter Miles stars as Tom Tiflin, a lonely farm boy who takes refuge from his squabbling parents in the company of his beloved foal, the eponymous equine. The pony is owned by ranch hand Billy Buck, who teaches Miles how to tame it and care for it, providing an escape for the boy and a lesson to his parents. Aaron Copland's score and Tony Gaudio's rich Technicolor photography combine with Lewis Milestone's experienced direction in this dramatic western.
Director: Lewis Milestone
Starring: Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum, Louis Calhern, Shepperd Strudwick, Peter Miles, Margaret Hamilton
(Subtitles, 1949, U, 3 Star)

The Comancheros (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Western starring John Wayne as Texas Ranger Jake Cutter. After taking gambler Paul Regret into custody, Cutter is forced to team up with his prisoner on a covert mission to tackle a band of thieves and gunrunners called the Comancheros. This final film from Casablanca director Michael Curtiz features star support from Lee Marvin and Nehemiah Persoff, and a stirring score by Elmer Bernstein.
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin, Nehemiah Persoff, Lee Marvin, Michael Ansara
(Subtitles, 1961, PG, 3 Star)

16:40

Doctor in Distress (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Under the steady hand of Ralph Thomas, who directed the other Doctor... films, Dr Simon Sparrow returns to St Swithins as an experienced doctor but he still has a roving eye for the ladies, which soon settles on Delia Mallory. Once again, Sir Lancelot Spratt is in residence, but this time as a patient who's fallen for physiotherapist Iris. Will Sparrow's tips help him win her hand?
Director: Ralph L. Thomas
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Samantha Eggar, James Robertson Justice, Mylène Demongeot, Donald Houston, Barbara Murray
(Subtitles, 1963, PG, 3 Star)

18:45

Tooth Fairy (Film) Film icon PG certificate
Dwayne Johnson stars in Michael Lembeck's family fantasy comedy about a tough-guy sportsman who learns the hard way not to puncture a child's illusions. Derek Thompson is an ice hockey pro whose main tactical use is the flattening of opponents - often depriving them of a tooth or two in the process. His aggression has earned him the nickname 'Tooth Fairy', but when he unsportingly tells his girlfriend's daughter that tooth fairies don't exist in reality, he's in for a bit of a shock. Unknown to him they do - and they take great umbrage at his slight. Thompson is whipped away to Fairy Land, where he's tried for his misdemeanour and sentenced to a week's community service as a tooth fairy. Thus he sprouts wings, is furnished with an outfit completely at odds with his usual image and is given Tracy as a mentor. And, as the comedic misunderstandings and slapstick errors steadily mount, it's clear Thompson wasn't cut out for his new line of work.
Director: Michael Lembeck
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, Stephen Merchant, Ryan Sheckler, Seth MacFarlane, Julie Andrews
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2010, PG, 2 Star)

21:00

Shakespeare in Love (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 15 certificate
Tom Stoppard provided the witty and intelligent script for John Madden's romantic comedy in which young Will Shakespeare struggles with writer's block and money worries while trying to complete Romeo and Ethel: The Pirate's Daughter. Gwyneth Paltrow once more employs her faultless English accent, playing aristocratic Viola de Lesseps, who is shortly to be married off but yearns to slum it as an actor. Disguising herself as a boy in order to be allowed on stage, Viola becomes Will's muse, and the more familiar tale of Romeo and Juliet begins to take shape as the couple fall passionately in love. The film is littered with knowing lines and energetically supported by a stellar cast, including Judy Dench as Queen Elizabeth - a cameo performance which earned her one of the movie's seven Oscars. First screening on Film4.
Director: John Madden
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson, Steven O'Donnell, Tim McMullan, Joseph Fiennes, Steven Beard
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, 1998, 15, 3 Star)

23:25

The Comedian (Film) Film icon 15 certificate
Tom Shkolnik's debut feature film is an intimate drama about an aspiring comedian struggling for a sense of identity in contemporary London. Thirtysomething Ed is a reluctant salesman by day, and hasn't managed to make much of an impression on the amateur stand-up circuit by night. After a chance encounter on a bus, Ed begins an affair with artist Nathan but he's also drawn to French musician Elisa. It's Ed's failure to choose a path and commit to it that provides the film's dramatic engine, and Shkolnik's low-fi improvisational style nicely captures the London lifestyles of these drifting souls. Film4 premiere.
Director: Tom Shkolnik
Starring: Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Edward Hogg, Steven Robertson, Brett Goldstein, Gerard Murphy, Elisa Lasowski
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, 2012, 15, 2 Star)

01:00

The Pillow Book (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 18 certificate
Peter Greenaway's film is a feast for the eye, using graphics, subtitles and superimpositions, but the story itself is equally absorbing. Nagiko, who has a fetish for calligraphy on the human body, meets ideal soul-mate Jerome, an English translator sent to Japan. But once Nagiko's father's gay publisher rejoins the scene, the story is overtaken by treachery and bloodlust.
Director: Peter Greenaway
Starring: Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata, Hideko Yoshida, Ewan McGregor, Judy Ongg
(Subtitles, 1996, 18, 3 Star)

The Fighting Kentuckian (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
In George Waggner's all-action western, John Wayne and Oliver Hardy star as John Breen and Willie Paine, discharged soldiers from a Kentuckian army regiment who join forces with French settlers who were exiled from their homeland after Napoleon's defeat and granted land in Alabama. On the other side is ruthless land-grabber Grant Withers. The love interest for Wayne comes from Vera Ralston, as the daughter of one of the French ex-generals.
Director: George Waggner
Starring: John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn, Oliver Hardy, Marie Windsor, John Alexis Howard
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1949, U, 3 Star)

13:00

Son of the Mask (Film) Film icon PG certificate
The magical mask vanishes once again in Lawrence Guterman's sequel to The Mask. After cartoonist Tim Avery's dog finds it in a stream, Tim lands a big account, only to lose it, and his job, when the mask goes missing. It's found by his infant son Alvey, who is so familiar with TV cartoons that he's ambivalent to his new toy. But it's not only Alvey's dad who wants the mask back: the Norse god of mischief Loki needs to find it before his father, Odin, realises that the potent artefact has been lost... Edited for content.
Director: Lawrence Guterman
Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Alan Cumming, Liam Falconer, Ryan Falconer, Traylor Howard, Steven Wright
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2005, PG, 1 Star)

14:50

Cocoon (Film) Film icon 4 star rating PG certificate
Oscar-winning sci-fi fantasy in which the residents of a Florida rest-home get a new lease of life when they stumble across an alien 'fountain of youth' in a disused vacation house. Unbeknown to them, aliens have been using the swimming pool in the house to store their cocooned brethren, giving the waters a powerful, rejuvenating quality. Don Ameche won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1985, PG, 4 Star)

17:05

Carry on Behind (Film) Film icon PG certificate
Saucy British comedy with the Carry On crew as Prof. Roland Crump enlists a band of students to investigate the remains of a Roman encampment in Britain. Together with the professor's glamorous Russian assistant, the team arrive at the historic site only to find it crawling with a motley selection of holidaymaking caravan enthusiasts.
Director: Gerald Thomas
Starring: Kenneth Williams, Elke Sommer, Bernard Bresslaw, Kenneth Connor, Joan Sims, Windsor Davies
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1975, PG, 2 Star)

Beverly Hills Cop III (Film) Film icon 15 certificate
Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold star in John Landis's contribution to the action-comedy franchise. Axel Foley is once again dragged away from his routine police work in Detroit when evidence is discovered linking the shooting of his boss to a counterfeiting outfit in California. It's not long before the unconventional cop is back in the famous Los Angeles suburb and teamed up with his old buddy, detective Billy Rosewood, to discover the illegal goings on in a local tourist attraction called Wonder World.
Director: John Landis
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jon Tenney, Joey Travolta, Eugene Collier, Jimmy Ortega, Ousaun Elam
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1993, 15, 2 Star)

23:00

Berberian Sound Studio (Film) Film icon 15 certificate
The British Connection Season continues with this Film4 premiere. Toby Jones stars in director Peter Strickland's remarkable psychological horror film, which offers a truly disturbing cinematic experience despite its near-absolute lack of standard horror visuals. The narrative centres on Gilderoy, a gifted foley artist who has lived a sheltered life in Dorking before his expertise at creating innovative sound effects sees him hired by an Italian film studio. But this is the 1970s and his new employers specialise in the ultra-low budget, ultra-violent and exploitative films of the country's burgeoning giallo horror movement. Thus, in a cramped audio studio in Rome, the Englishman comes to spend all day inflicting grievous damage upon vegetables with a variety of weapons and techniques; and the rest of his time feeling lonely and homesick.
(Premiere, Subtitles, 15)

00:50

Inferno (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 18 certificate
Dario Argento's tale of the occult, the second in a planned trilogy which started with Suspiria, sees Rose Elliot, a young poet in Rome, murdered after she reads a Latin book that tells the supernatural story of the Three Mothers. Her brother Mark investigates her murder and, after his friend Sara is killed, takes off for New York, where he becomes entangled in a chilling web of supernatural forces.
Director: Dario Argento
Starring: Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi, Sacha Pitoëff, Alida Valli
(Subtitles, 1980, 18, 3 Star)

Akeelah and the Bee (Film) Film icon 4 star rating 12 certificate
Doug Atchison's charming drama stars Keke Palmer as Akeelah Anderson, a young girl attending a tough ghetto school in Los Angeles. When she sees the finals of the National Spelling Bee, she decides to enter the competition on the strength of her special skill at spelling. Despite her classmates derision and the antipathy of her mother Tanya, and thanks to the efforts of her teacher Dr Joshua Larabee, she reaches the final. But when she meets her fellow competitors, she learns a lesson that will stand her in better stead in the future as she realises that coming first isn't everything in life... Edited for content.
Director: Doug Atchison
Starring: Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong, J.R. Villarreal, Sean Michael Afable
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2006, 12, 4 Star)

17:20

The Muppet Christmas Carol (Film) Film icon 4 star rating U certificate
The Muppets take on Dickens' festive classic, directed by Brian Henson, starring a remarkably game Michael Caine as Scrooge, with Kermit as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as his wife and Gonzo as Charles Dickens himself, acting as the narrator. All elements of the story are faithfully adhered to, albeit it interspersed with songs, and the conclusion is as heart warming as in Dickens' original.
Director: Brian Henson
Starring: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1992, U, 4 Star)

19:00

Leap Year (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Amy Adams and Matthew Goode star in this transatlantic romcom from Shopgirl and Red Riding director Anand Tucker. Anna is living a contented life in Boston, or she would be, if only her heart surgeon boyfriend - currently working in Dublin - would pop that all-important question. Deciding that she's waited long enough, and encouraged by her Irish father, who reminds her of the tradition of women proposing to their beloved on the 29th of February, she hops on a plane to Ireland. However, the Emerald Isle's weather defeats even her steely determination and forces the flight to land on the other side of the country from the capital. Now she has limited time to get to Dublin, a long way to go and a pub-owner-cum-taxi driver, Declan, who, though handsome, is a little too testy for her liking. But as the pair make their slow way towards her goal, they gradually begin to view each other differently.
Director: Anand Tucker
Starring: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott, John Lithgow, Noel O'Donovan, Tony Rohr
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2010, PG, 3 Star)

21:00

The A-Team (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 12 certificate
Director Joe Carnahan's big-screen take on the 1980s OTT action-fest TV series is co-produced by Tony and Ridley Scott. This time around, a little brasher and marginally more serious than their first incarnation, cigar-chomping Col 'Hannibal' Smith, wilfully eccentric Murdock, toned babe-magnet Face and, of course, BA Baracus start out on the back foot, having been jailed after a black ops mission in Iraq went disastrously wrong. When they discover that they were framed and that a massive currency counterfeiting operation is afoot, it's time for them to break out of prison and prove their innocence by tracking down the baddies, saving the US dollar, and, of course, blowing up as many objects as possible along the way. Also featuring Jessica Biel as Face's ex-flame and Patrick Wilson as the team's CIA handler.
Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Patrick Wilson
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2010, 12, 3 Star)

23:15

I Am Breathing (Film) Film icon
Emma Davie and Morag McKinnon's bluntly honest, deeply moving documentary records the last months of Yorkshire-born architect Neil Platt's life, as he succumbs to motor neurone disease. The film-makers follow the 34-year-old father as he puts his affairs in order, writes a blog about his experiences, ponders how best to leave a sense of who he was for his young son Oscar and makes the most of his remaining time with his wife Louise and his mother Lynne. There's no obvious attempt by anyone involved in the film to pander to emotional niceties, but neither is there any hint of melodrama - just a straightforward account of what must come to us all, and it's all the more moving for it. Film4 premiere.
(Premiere, Subtitles)

Repeat Performance (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Joan Leslie takes the lead role in this fantasy noir from Alfred L Werker, a director mainly remembered for his 1939 adaptation of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The action opens on New Year's Eve 1946, with Broadway actress Sheila Page apparently callously shooting dead her husband Barney. But as she leaves the crime scene she wishes she could play the year over, with a different script. And before she reaches the top of the stairs, she's startled to realise that she has indeed been transported back to New Year's Day 1946... and now has the chance to make good her wish. However, as the curtain on the first act rises, we soon realise her brutal, alcoholic and philandering spouse isn't going to make it easy for her. First screening on Film4.
Director: Alfred L. Werker
Starring: Louis Hayward, Joan Leslie, Virginia Field, Tom Conway, Richard Basehart, Natalie Schafer
(Premiere, Subtitles, Black and White, 1947, PG, 3 Star)

12:55

Danger Within (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
Don Chaffey's intriguing thriller is set in a Second World War POW camp where all attempts to escape are stopped suspiciously quickly by the Germans. Suspecting a planted stool pigeon is revealing their plans, Lt Col David Baird, head of the escape committee, overrides senior British officer Lt Col Huxley with an audacious plan for a daylight escape of 400 prisoners - which will also expose the traitor in their midst.
Director: Don Chaffey
Starring: Richard Todd, Bernard Lee, Michael Wilding, Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, Donald Houston
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1958, U, 3 Star)

14:55

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (Documentary) PG certificate
Craig McCall's documentary charts the career of the superlative British cinematographer who died in 2009. Jack Cardiff's involvement in the medium began in the silent era as an actor, aged just four. His on-screen career was short, but he switched to working behind the camera in 1935 and went on to become one of the most respected purveyors of his trade in the history of cinema. Films he lent his magic to include A Matter of Life and Death, The Red Shoes, The African Queen, The Prince and the Showgirl, The Vikings and Death on the Nile, right through to Conan the Destroy er and Rambo: First Blood Part II. He won two Oscars: the first for work on 1947's Black Narcissus, the second an honorary Lifetime Achievement award in 2001. His story is told through interviews with the man himself and those who worked with and admired him, including Martin Scorsese, Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Charlton Heston, John Mills and Alan Parker. Edited for content.
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2010, PG)

16:35

Von Ryan's Express (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Mark Robson's Second World War adventure stars Frank Sinatra as the leader of Allied prisoners of war attempting to slip the clutches of their captors. In occupied Italy, a group of mainly English POWs are about to attempt to escape from their camp when a tough American Colonel, Joseph Ryan, is incarcerated with them. When he hears the details of their plot, he thinks it amounts to suicide, and blows their plans by telling the Italian guards. His action earns their hatred, and the moniker 'von Ryan'. But Ryan is eventually able to make it up to his comrades when he spies the opportunity to hijack a train to get them all to safety in Switzerland. But they've still got a lot of the Italian countryside to cover, with the Nazis and Fascists determined to stop them, plus more trouble than they were expecting from their fellow Allied forces.
Director: Mark Robson
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Raffaella Carrà, Brad Dexter, Sergio Fantoni, John Leyton
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1965, PG, 3 Star)

18:55

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Film) Film icon 4 star rating PG certificate
Following on from The Wrath of Khan, the ruined Enterprise limps home, with the crew grieving for Spock, who gave his life to conquer Khan. Back at base, the ship is due to be broken up and the crew dispersed, until Admiral Kirk learns that Spock's spirit lives on in a member of his crew and that his friend can be restored to life. But to do so, Kirk must return to the planet Genesis, where his son Dr David Marcus is under attack from the Klingons... Edited for content.
Director: Leonard Nimoy
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig
(Subtitles, Audio Described, 1984, PG, 4 Star)

21:00

Knight and Day (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 12 certificate
James Mangold's action-comedy is a jet-setting caper that opens with June Havens crossing paths with Roy Miller at an airport. He's a CIA assassin whose colleagues think has turned rogue agent and are now out to put him permanently out of the game. He realises that, now she's met him, June's life is also in danger from those chasing him, so he kidnaps her to keep her safe. Forced to flee with him, the duo dash around the globe - with locations sweeping from the South Pacific to Seville - and must survive chase after chase in the fight to clear his name and return June to her 'regular' life in Wichita, Kansas.
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Jordi Mollà, Viola Davis, Paul Dano
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2010, 12, 3 Star)

23:10

Black Pond (Film) Film icon 15 certificate
Chris Langham and Amanda Hadingue star in this feature debut from writer/producer/director duo Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe, a black comedy probing tragedy and tabloid accusation. Out walking his three-legged dog by Black Pond, Tom Thompson is approached by Blake, a widower who's clearly unhappy and behaving eccentrically. Taking pity on the man, Tom invites him back to the large Surrey house he now lives in with just his spiky-natured wife Sophie; their grownup daughters Jess and Katie having left to share a London flat. What happens next will, a few months down the line, bring them all under the intense, nightmarish spotlight of tabloid speculation and widespread notoriety. Also starring the film's co-maker Will Sharpe as Tim, Jess and Katie's flatmate, and with Simon Amstell supplying some broad humour in his role as Eric Sacks, a sinister and fraudulent therapist.
Starring: Colin Hurley, Helen Cripps
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, 2011, 15)

00:55

Pather Panchali (Film) Film icon 4 star rating U certificate
Satyajit Ray's masterly debut film, and winner at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, is the first part of his celebrated Apu trilogy. The drama traces the life of a young boy, Apu, as he witnesses family loves and troubles in a small Bengal village. Part two of the trilogy can be seen tomorrow night on Film4, with the World of Apu showing in the same slot on Wednesday.
Director: Satyajit Ray
Starring: Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Bannerjee, Uma Das Gupta, Chunibala Devi, Runki Bannerjee
(Black and White, In Bengali with English Subtitles, 1955, U, 4 Star)

The Admirable Crichton (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
Lewis Gilbert's classic comedy, based on J M Barrie's play, stars Kenneth More as the admirable Crichton, butler to Lord Loam and his family. When, while cruising in the South Seas, they are shipwrecked on a desert island, his Lordship takes command but it slowly emerges that Crichton possesses the skills for survival. As the master/servant roles are reversed, even romance is turned upside down; but surely rescue will reassert the status quo?
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Kenneth More, Diane Cilento, Cecil Parker, Sally Ann Howes, Martita Hunt, Jack Watling
(Subtitles, 1957, U, 3 Star)

14:35

The Comancheros (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Western starring John Wayne as Texas Ranger Jake Cutter. After taking gambler Paul Regret into custody, Cutter is forced to team up with his prisoner on a covert mission to tackle a band of thieves and gunrunners called the Comancheros. This final film from Casablanca director Michael Curtiz features star support from Lee Marvin and Nehemiah Persoff, and a stirring score by Elmer Bernstein.
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin, Nehemiah Persoff, Lee Marvin, Michael Ansara
(Subtitles, 1961, PG, 3 Star)

16:45

The Poseidon Adventure (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Disaster movie set aboard a luxury cruise liner which is hit by a huge tidal wave and capsizes. With time running out. the passengers are forced to fight for their survival and make their way to the surface through air pockets in the upturned ship.
Director: Ronald Neame, Irwin Allen
Starring: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters
(Subtitles, Audio Described, 1972, PG, 3 Star)

19:00

17 Again (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 12 certificate
Burr Steers' teen body-swap comedy stars Zac Efron and Matthew Perry in the dual lead role. In 1989, high school student Mike O'Donnell's hopes of a great basketball career were put on hold when his girlfriend Scarlett fell pregnant and he did the right thing by her. Now, the adult O'Donnell is down on his luck: he's lost his job, separated from Scarlett, lost his kids' love, and ends up moving in with his best friend, Ned. On a nostalgic trip back to his old school, O'Donnell bumps into a mysterious caretaker and admits that he wishes he could have a second chance at his life. Well, it's not long before O'Donnell's body has magically reverted to his 17-year-old self, though temporally he's still in 2009: he got his wish, sort of. Next comes the tricky stuff: finding a cover story and getting enrolled in his old school; dealing with the sexual mores of 21st-century teens - in particular, those of his own daughter; and, perhaps, fixing his relationship with Scarlett. Edited for content.
Director: Burr Steers
Starring: Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Matthew Perry, Tyler Steelman, Allison Miller
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2009, 12, 3 Star)

21:00

Kick-Ass (Film) Film icon 4 star rating 18 certificate
Concluding the British Connection Season, Matthew Vaughn's violent-but-hilarious action movie is a knowing take on the superhero genre, based on Mark Millar and John Romita Jr's comic-book series. Avid comic fan and New York high schooler Dave Lizewski has begun to wonder why his contemporaries are keener on vapid celebrity than wanting to emulate his heroes and try to make the world a better place. Thus Lizewski orders a simply hideous skiing outfit and dons it to become Kick-Ass, scourge of New York's criminals. Well that's the idea, but of course it's his ass that gets kicked when he first tries to put his plan into action.
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Lyndsy Fonseca
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2010, 18, 4 Star)

23:20

Super (Film) Film icon 18 certificate
James Gunn's vigilante black comedy starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Liv Tyler. Frank D'Arbo is a short-order chef whose wife Sarah has just left him for a drug dealer called Jacques. That would be enough to make anyone feel bitter, but there are also deeper, darker facets to Frank's troubled character. And, after experiencing a bizarre religious revelation, it's not a massive surprise to see him stitching together a red 'superhero' outfit and, as The Crimson Bolt, heading out in the world to dispense summary justice. But what is surprising is the degree of violence with which the wrench-wielding vigilante attacks largely innocent bystanders - as is the relationship the anger-crazed middle-aged man develops with Libby, a much younger woman who works in a comic-book store.
Director: James Gunn
Starring: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker, Andre Royo
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2010, 18)

01:10

Aparajito (Film) Film icon 4 star rating U certificate
The second part of Satyajit Ray's much acclaimed and highly influential Apu Trilogy, Aparajito tells the story of a young boy's path from childhood to college. Following the events of the first film, in which Apu and his parents leave their ancestral village following a series of tragic events, the sequel finds them living in Benares, where Apu's father, Harihar, is earning a meagre living reading out religious scriptures. But after he dies due to exhaustion and ill health, Apu and his mother Sarbajaya are left to fend for themselves. Produced on a shoestring budget with a cast of amateurs, the film received international acclaim upon its release and won a score of awards. The final part of the Apu Trilogy can be seen on Film4 tomorrow night.
Director: Satyajit Ray
Starring: Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Pinaki Sengupta, Smaran Ghosal, Santi Gupta, Ramani Sengupta
(Black and White, In Bengali with English Subtitles, 1956, U, 4 Star)

The Long Memory (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Robert Hamer's British thriller stars John Mills as Phillip Davidson, who is released from jail after serving 12 years for a murder he did not commit. Determined to seek revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment, he at first shuts himself away in a deserted barge on the Thames Estuary, where he is kept under police surveillance and hounded by pressmen after a story. Only a sympathetic refugee girl, Ilse, is slowly able to get through to him and convince him of the futility of trying to get back at the perjurers who sent him to jail.
Director: Robert Hamer
Starring: John Mills, John McCallum, Elizabeth Sellars, Eva Bergh, Geoffrey Keen, Michael Martin-Harvey
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1953, PG, 3 Star)

12:50

Bugles in the Afternoon (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Roy Rowland's western stars Ray Milland as Kern Shafter, a cavalry officer reduced to the ranks after a fight with fellow officer Edward Garnett. Ten years after the event, Shafter is assigned to a cavalry outpost in Dakota where Garnett is the commanding officer. Still smarting after his humiliation, Garnett assigns him the most dangerous of scouting duties among the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes and, to complicate matters, they both fall for the same woman, Josephine Carter. As both professional and emotional tensions rise, the action culminates at the Battle of Little Big Horn, where Shafter is sent to scout the enemy's positions, while Garnett leads his men into battle alongside Custer.
Director: Roy Rowland
Starring: Ray Milland, Helena Carter, Hugh Marlowe, Forrest Tucker, Barton MacLane, George Reeves
(Subtitles, Audio Described, 1952, PG, 3 Star)

14:30

Bear Island (Film) Film icon PG certificate
Donald Sutherland plays Frank Lansing, a researcher who has joined a NATO expedition to study global warming on an island deemed off limits, in this adaptation of Alistair MacLean's novel. An all-star cast of researchers end up at the frozen, isolated research station, where they run into a series of mysterious accidents and murders. Could a fortune in buried Nazi gold provide a motive for the violence?
Director: Don Sharp
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Barbara Parkins, Lloyd Bridges
(Subtitles, 1980, PG, 2 Star)

16:45

Warlock (Film) Film icon 4 star rating U certificate
Romantic western about a town that is led by a town of thugs. Gunfighter Curt was supposed to be the saviour of Warlock. But after he turns out wilder than the cowboys he was hired to tame, former gunslinger Johnny joins the good guys as sheriff.
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Starring: Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Dorothy Malone, Dolores Michaels, Wallace Ford
(Subtitles, 1959, U, 4 Star)

19:05

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 12 certificate
Zac Efron takes the title role in this supernatural romantic fantasy from director Burr Steers. Life is looking good for teenager Charlie St Cloud: in spite of his relatively humble origins, his competitive yachting career is progressing nicely and he has just gained acceptance to an Ivy League School. But all this good stuff is destroyed in an instant when his brother Sam is killed in a car crash. Charlie turns his back on the world and takes a job in the cemetery where Sam is buried. It's here that the supernatural element kicks in, as Charlie can see and interact with the spirits of the dead, which means he can continue to spend time with his beloved sibling. But Charlie's world isn't entirely ethereal and, when he falls for his former classmate - and sailing equal - Tess Carroll, he finds himself forced to choose between his love for Tess and that for Sam, between the living and the dead. Also starring Kim Basinger and Ray Liotta. First screening on Film4. Edited for content.
Director: Burr Steers
Starring: Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan, Amanda Crew, Augustus Prew, Donal Logue, Kim Basinger
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, 2010, 12, 3 Star)

21:00

Shakespeare in Love (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 15 certificate
Tom Stoppard provided the witty and intelligent script for John Madden's romantic comedy in which young Will Shakespeare struggles with writer's block and money worries while trying to complete Romeo and Ethel: The Pirate's Daughter. Gwyneth Paltrow once more employs her faultless English accent, playing aristocratic Viola de Lesseps, who is shortly to be married off but yearns to slum it as an actor. Disguising herself as a boy in order to be allowed on stage, Viola becomes Will's muse, and the more familiar tale of Romeo and Juliet begins to take shape as the couple fall passionately in love. The film is littered with knowing lines and energetically supported by a stellar cast, including Judy Dench as Queen Elizabeth - a cameo performance which earned her one of the movie's seven Oscars.
Director: John Madden
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson, Steven O'Donnell, Tim McMullan, Joseph Fiennes, Steven Beard
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1998, 15, 3 Star)

23:30

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 18 certificate
Steven Seagal returns as former Navy SEAL Casey Ryback in Geoff Murphy's action thriller. Ryback is taking a train holiday from Denver to Los Angeles with his recently orphaned teenage niece when their break is rudely interrupted by a megalomaniac terrorist. The baddie in question is Travis Dane, who has gained control of the terrifyingly potent, space-based super weapon that he helped design. After being sacked by the US government, he's thrown his lot in with a shady Middle Eastern organisation that's out to destroy the eastern seaboard of the United States. Dane's team of merciless thugs take control of the train, from where the destructive satellite can be operated without detection, as long as the locomotive doesn't stop. But they're not counting on the wily ex-serviceman, nor his resolve to keep his niece safe from harm.
Director: Geoff Murphy
Starring: Steven Seagal, Eric Bogosian, Everett McGill, Katherine Heigl, Morris Chestnut
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1995, 18, 3 Star)

01:30

The World of Apu (Film) Film icon 4 star rating U certificate
Satyajit Ray's masterly conclusion to his classic Apu trilogy stars Soumitra Chatterjee as Apu, now a young struggling writer in 1930s Calcutta. He almost accidentally falls into a marriage with Sharmila Tagore but grows to love her and is inconsolable when she dies in childbirth.
Director: Satyajit Ray
Starring: Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty, Swapan Mukherjee, Dhiresh Majumdar, Sefalika Devi
(Subtitles, In Bengali with Subtitles, 1959, U, 4 Star)

Two Years at Sea (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
Ben Rivers' enigmatic documentary traces the everyday life of Jake Williams, an ageing man living alone in a remote area of Scotland. The black and white film features next to no dialogue and gives few clues as to how Williams came to be living this life of a hermit, but it is certainly quietly absorbing in its mysteriousness.
Director: Ben Rivers
Starring: Jake Williams
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Black and White, 2011, U, 3 Star)

12:50

On the Town (Film) Film icon 4 star rating U certificate
In this stunning musical, shot almost entirely on location, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin are Gabey, Chip and Ozzie, three US Navy sailors with just 24 hours in New York and a mission - to find a date. Cue sassy taxi driver Brunhilde, pin-up Ivy and glamorous museum scientist Claire, who variously become their objects of desire. Directed by Stanley Donen and Kelly, this Oscar-winning musical is packed with songs from Leonard Bernstein's sumptuous score including, of course, the classic New York, New York.
Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Starring: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin, Vera-Ellen Slezak
(Subtitles, 1949, U, 4 Star)

14:45

Carry on Behind (Film) Film icon PG certificate
Saucy British comedy with the Carry On crew as Prof. Roland Crump enlists a band of students to investigate the remains of a Roman encampment in Britain. Together with the professor's glamorous Russian assistant, the team arrive at the historic site only to find it crawling with a motley selection of holidaymaking caravan enthusiasts.
Director: Gerald Thomas
Starring: Kenneth Williams, Elke Sommer, Bernard Bresslaw, Kenneth Connor, Joan Sims, Windsor Davies
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1975, PG, 2 Star)

16:30

Shane (Film) Film icon 4 star rating PG certificate
Alan Ladd plays the title role in George Stevens' epic Oscar-winning western as a drifter who joins farmer Joe Starrett's family at a homesteading community. But land baron Rufus Ryker wants them out and hires gunslinger Jack Wilson to pile on the pressure. For Shane, a past he thought he had left behind returns to haunt him.
Director: George Stevens
Starring: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon de Wilde, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson
(Subtitles, 1953, PG, 4 Star)

18:50

Planet of the Apes (Film) Film icon 4 star rating PG certificate
Classic sci-fi story about an exploratory mission which goes drastically wrong, sending a group of astronauts 2,000 years into the future. When they crash-land, they find themselves on a planet where humans live like Neanderthals, controlled and conditioned by a super-intelligent race of apes.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whit
(Subtitles, 1968, PG, 4 Star)

21:00

Hitman (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 15 certificate
Xavier Gens' action-thriller stars Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47, a nameless assassin belonging to an amoral worldwide organisation that's happy to carry out the dirty work for many major powers. After an operation goes wrong, he goes on the run from both the Russian Secret Service and his own organisation, reluctantly allowing Nika Boronina to tag along. Spying on them both is Interpol agent Mike Whittier. The film is adapted from a computer game but rises above a simple shoot-'em-up level thanks to Agent 47's complicated personality and enigmatic nature.
Director: Xavier Gens
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko, Robert Knepper, Ulrich Thomsen, Henry Ian Cusick
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2007, 15, 3 Star)

22:50

Street Kings (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 15 certificate
Keanu Reeves stars in David Ayer's action crime drama, co-scripted by James Ellroy. Detective Tom Ludlow is having a tough time coping after the death of his wife, but things are due to become even more testing when his partner is shot dead. Ludlow's grief turns to bafflement when he finds himself accused of killing his workmate, and despair when his fellow cops turn against him. Up against a steely Internal Affairs investigation and shut out by his colleagues, it's clear that only Ludlow himself has any interest in proving his innocence.
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Cedric the Entertainer, Jay Mohr
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2008, 15, 3 Star)

00:55

Babel (Film) Film icon 4 star rating 15 certificate
Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star in Alejandro González Iñárritu's multi-stranded drama as American tourists caught up in an accidental shooting in Morocco. And what happens to them also has repercussions for their Mexican nanny, looking after their children back home, and the daughter of the Japanese businessman who used to own the rifle that was used in the shooting. As each plot unfolds, they interlock, revealing as much about the individuals as the systems, politics and hardships they encounter, and leading to a stunning climax. In English, Arabic, Spanish, Japanese, Berber and French with English subtitles.
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Mohamed Akhzam, Peter Wight, Harriet Walter, Trevor Martin
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2006, 15, 4 Star)

The Fighting Kentuckian (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
In George Waggner's all-action western, John Wayne and Oliver Hardy star as John Breen and Willie Paine, discharged soldiers from a Kentuckian army regiment who join forces with French settlers who were exiled from their homeland after Napoleon's defeat and granted land in Alabama. On the other side is ruthless land-grabber Grant Withers. The love interest for Wayne comes from Vera Ralston, as the daughter of one of the French ex-generals.
Director: George Waggner
Starring: John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn, Oliver Hardy, Marie Windsor, John Alexis Howard
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1949, U, 3 Star)

12:55

Conspiracy of Hearts (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
In 1943 in Italy, Mother Katharine and Sister Mitya are part of a group of nuns helping to smuggle orphaned Jewish children out of an internment camp. Initially, a sympathetic Italian major helps them, but when he's replaced by a Nazi colonel and a lieutenant, the nuns find themselves in much more danger.
Director: Ralph L. Thomas
Starring: Lilli Palmer, Sylvia Syms, Yvonne Mitchell, Ronald Lewis, Albert Lieven, Peter Arne
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1960, U, 3 Star)

15:10

Town on Trial (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
Thrilling British whodunnit with a sharp twist, simmering social tension and a rare performance of coiled brutality from John Mills. He plays a scarred police superintendant investigating a spate of sexually related murders in a posh suburban community. When his aggressive tactics turn the town against him, only Elizabeth Fenner will lend him an ear, but their relationship is stymied when her father becomes the chief suspect.
Director: John Guillermin
Starring: Charles Coburn, John Mills, Barbara Bates, Derek Farr, Alec McCowen, Elizabeth Seal
(Subtitles, Black and White, 1957, U, 3 Star)

17:00

The 39 Steps (Film) Film icon 3 star rating U certificate
Kenneth More stars as Richard Hannay in the second film adaptation of John Buchan's ripping espionage yarn. It's more than a simple remake of Alfred Hitchcock's original 1935 movie, played this time for light-hearted excitement rather than suspense. And it certainly fulfils its ambition, as Hannay gamely romps around the Scottish countryside in a 48-hour dash to save the day by cracking an international plot to smuggle defence plans out of Britain.
Director: Ralph L. Thomas
Starring: Kenneth More, Taina Elg, Brenda de Banzie, Barry Jones, Reginald Beckwith, Faith Brook
(Subtitles, Audio Described, 1959, U, 3 Star)

The A-Team (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 12 certificate
Director Joe Carnahan's big-screen take on the 1980s OTT action-fest TV series is co-produced by Tony and Ridley Scott. This time around, a little brasher and marginally more serious than their first incarnation, cigar-chomping Col 'Hannibal' Smith, wilfully eccentric Murdock, toned babe-magnet Face and, of course, BA Baracus start out on the back foot, having been jailed after a black ops mission in Iraq went disastrously wrong. When they discover that they were framed and that a massive currency counterfeiting operation is afoot, it's time for them to break out of prison and prove their innocence by tracking down the baddies, saving the US dollar, and, of course, blowing up as many objects as possible along the way. Also featuring Jessica Biel as Face's ex-flame and Patrick Wilson as the team's CIA handler.
Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Patrick Wilson
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2010, 12, 3 Star)

23:15

The Running Man (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 18 certificate
In this breathless futuristic thriller, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a helicopter pilot framed for the murder of starving civilians, who ends up being forced to take part in a brutal TV game show in which a succession of gadget-wielding killers hunt him down on the streets of LA. Based on a Stephen King novel, Schwarzenegger assumes the role with relish - destroying baddies with killer one-liners - and director Paul Michael Glaser handles the action sequences with panache. Maria Conchita Alonso plays Arnie's reluctant partner, while Richard Dawson steals the show with his take on a smarmy, ratings-obsessed TV host.
Director: Paul Michael Glaser
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura, Erland Van Lidth
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1987, 18, 3 Star)

01:10

Johnny Mad Dog (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 15 certificate
Jean-Stephane Sauvaire's widely praised, grimly realistic drama portrays the brutal lives of African child soldiers, and features a cast largely consisting of first-time actors, some of whom had themselves been child soldiers. The film was shot in conflict-devastated Liberia and follows a troop of children and youths sent as a vanguard by the rebels to take control of a government position. They are led by a teenager known only as Johnny Mad Dog, and as they advance they heap terror, death and atrocity on anyone who gets in their way. Loaded with heavy weaponry, the bizarrely attired but surprisingly organised mini militia psyche themselves for battle and barbarity by chanting slogans, drinking alcohol and rubbing cocaine into their wounds, often expressly inflicted for the purpose. Meanwhile, across town, Laokole, roughly the same age as Johnny Mad Dog, is desperately trying to get her wounded father out of the conflict zone.
Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
Starring: Carlos Badawi, Teddy Boy, Maxwell Carter, Amil Cash, Galaxy Chea, Jerry B. Chea
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2008, 15, 3 Star)

The Nativity Story (Film) Film icon 3 star rating PG certificate
Catherine Hardwicke's account of the birth of Christ stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary and Oscar Isaac as Joseph. From the appearance of the angel Gabriel, through Joseph's acceptance that she is indeed carrying the Son of God, to their trip to Bethlehem, the film is always respectful, with strong performances from the two leads who portray very real human emotions rather than those of saints.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Shaun Toub, Ciarán Hinds, Shohreh Aghdashloo
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2006, PG, 3 Star)

13:00

The Muppet Christmas Carol (Film) Film icon 4 star rating U certificate
The Muppets take on Dickens' festive classic, directed by Brian Henson, starring a remarkably game Michael Caine as Scrooge, with Kermit as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as his wife and Gonzo as Charles Dickens himself, acting as the narrator. All elements of the story are faithfully adhered to, albeit it interspersed with songs, and the conclusion is as heart-warming as in Dickens' original.
Director: Brian Henson
Starring: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1992, U, 4 Star)

14:40

17 Again (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 12 certificate
Burr Steers' teen body-swap comedy stars Zac Efron and Matthew Perry in the dual lead role. In 1989, high school student Mike O'Donnell's hopes of a great basketball career were put on hold when his girlfriend Scarlett fell pregnant and he did the right thing by her. Now, the adult O'Donnell is down on his luck: he's lost his job, separated from Scarlett, lost his kids' love, and ends up moving in with his best friend, Ned. On a nostalgic trip back to his old school, O'Donnell bumps into a mysterious caretaker and admits that he wishes he could have a second chance at his life. Well, it's not long before O'Donnell's body has magically reverted to his 17-year-old self, though temporally he's still in 2009: he got his wish, sort of. Next comes the tricky stuff: finding a cover story and getting enrolled in his old school; dealing with the sexual mores of 21st-century teens - in particular, those of his own daughter; and, perhaps, fixing his relationship with Scarlett. Edited for content.
Director: Burr Steers
Starring: Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Matthew Perry, Tyler Steelman, Allison Miller
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2009, 12, 3 Star)

16:35

Planet of the Apes (Film) Film icon 4 star rating PG certificate
Classic sci-fi story about an exploratory mission which goes drastically wrong, sending a group of astronauts 2,000 years into the future. When they crash-land, they find themselves on a planet where humans live like Neanderthals, controlled and conditioned by a super-intelligent race of apes.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whit
(Subtitles, 1968, PG, 4 Star)

18:45

Marley and Me (Film) Film icon 4 star rating PG certificate
The Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel's light comedy-drama - based on a best-selling autobiography - stars Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston as two journalists who welcome an unruly dog into their lives. Relocating to Florida, newlyweds John and Jenny Grogan end up working for rival newspapers, with Jenny landing the more high-profile job. When she starts to get broody, one of John's colleagues suggests they see how they cope with a puppy before trying for a baby, so John picks a cute yellow Labrador retriever, Marley, as a gift for Jenny. Marley is a double-edged sword: he's an untrainably anarchic source of destruction; but he also gives John the material for a wry newspaper column, which improves his standing and the paper's circulation figures.
Director: David Frankel
Starring: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin, Ann Dowd
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2008, PG, 4 Star)

21:00

Babylon A.D. (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 12 certificate
Mathieu Kassowitz's science fiction film is set in a dystopian future where corporations rule the cities. Mercenary Toorop is hired by Gorsky to pick up a 'package' from Russia and deliver it, via Alaska and Canada, to the high priestess of a new religion in New York. The package turns out to be a young woman, Aurora, accompanied by a nun, Sister Rebeka. But as the journey progresses, Aurora demonstrates other-worldly powers and, for Toorop, what was simply a job becomes a quest for redemption, as he tries to guard Aurora from the various factions that either wish her harm or want to claim her powers for their own use.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Mélanie Thierry, Gérard Depardieu, Charlotte Rampling, Mark Strong
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2008, 12, 3 Star)

22:45

Kick-Ass (Film) Film icon 4 star rating 18 certificate
Matthew Vaughn's violent-but-hilarious action movie is a knowing take on the superhero genre, based on Mark Millar and John Romita Jr's comic-book series. Avid comic fan and New York high schooler Dave Lizewski has begun to wonder why his contemporaries are keener on vapid celebrity than wanting to emulate his heroes and try to make the world a better place. Thus Lizewski orders a simply hideous skiing outfit and dons it to become Kick-Ass, scourge of New York's criminals.
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Lyndsy Fonseca
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2010, 18, 4 Star)

01:05

Birth (Film) Film icon 3 star rating 15 certificate
Jonathan Glazer's taut, chilling thriller stars Nicole Kidman as Anna, a widow for ten years, who has finally found new happiness with Joseph. At a party thrown by her mother Eleanor to celebrate their engagement, a ten-year-old boy Sean walks in unannounced and declares he is the reincarnation of her husband who died a decade ago. Anna becomes convinced, because of the knowledge he has of her life, that Sean is telling the truth, while all those around her remain sceptical, certain that something is terribly wrong.
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott, Arliss Howard
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2004, 15, 3 Star)